Interactive patent visualization systems and methods

ABSTRACT

An interactive, dynamic GUI for visualization of patent documents including content-dense graphics illustrating the number, content size, type of a multiplicity of patent documents (issued or granted patent versus published pending application), distributed over time, with comparison to similar patent documents, market events, and expert insights based upon content of specification or detailed description and claims, all within a predetermined technology sector having at least one sub-sector or category within the technology sector.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to and claims priority from thefollowing U.S. patent documents: this application is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/242,220,filed Jan. 8, 2019, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/614,737, filed Jan. 8, 2018, each of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to automated work systems and,more particularly, to automated work systems and methods for analyzingpatent documents using interactive graphic user interface visualization.

(2) Description of the Prior Art

The number of patent applications is increasing yearly. From 1963through 1983, approximately 100,000 patent applications per year werefiled at the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO); in 2001alone, 326,508 patent applications were filed; and most recently infiscal year 2016-2017 USPTO reported 647,388 patent applications werefiled. Technology innovation, which needs patent protection to attractcapital for development and commercialization, is driving this trend.Interestingly, technology is also facilitating the trend: wordprocessing, remote electronic database searching, and similartechnologies are facilitating the patent application process, both forhigh-technology and low-technology inventions. This large increase inpatent applications, and patents in general, means that the ability tounderstand and communicate patent documents and competitive positionwith respect to a large field of other patent property is a difficulttask, and is only becoming more difficult with time.

Thus, a need exists for automated systems and methods to provide fordynamic visualization of patent documents that provide for interactivegraphic user interface (GUI) visuals relating to issued patents and/orpatent applications.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system, method, and dynamic,interactive graphical user interface (GUI) for visualization and foranalyzing patent documents, including text-based descriptions, diagramsor figures, and intellectual property as set forth in the patentdocument claims for each of the multiplicity of patent documents.

In one aspect, the system includes: at least one device in network-basedcommunication with a remote computer and/or cloud-based computing systemhaving a database of patent documents including figures and textdescriptions and claims.

The present invention provides a patent forecast diagram for providinginformation about technology evolution in predetermined technologysectors including an interactive, dynamic GUI for visualization ofpatent documents including content-dense graphics illustrating thenumber, content size, type of a multiplicity of patent documents (issuedor granted patent versus published pending application), distributedover time, with comparison to similar patent documents based uponcontent of specification or detailed description and claims, and visualenunciation of human and computer determined insights and similaritiesregarding single patents or groups of patents, all within apredetermined technology sector having at least one sub-sector orcategory within the technology sector.

In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system forinteractive patent visualization, including at least one user deviceconstructed and configured for network communication with at least oneserver platform, wherein the at least one server platform is operable toprovide an interactive and dynamic graphical user interface (GUI) to theat least one user device, wherein the at least one server platform isoperable to access at least one national patent database, wherein the atleast one server platform is operable to generate a patent forecastdiagram based on patent data from the at least one national patentdatabase, wherein the patent forecast diagram comprises a multiplicityof graphics distributed over time, representing a multiplicity of patentdocuments, wherein each graphic represents a patent document, whereinthe at least one user device is operable to display the patent forecastdiagram via the interactive and dynamic GUI, wherein the at least oneserver platform is operable to receive a tag for the multiplicity ofpatent documents with one of a multiplicity of primary category labelsand at least one of a multiplicity of secondary category labels, whereinthe at least one server platform is operable to group the multiplicityof patent documents by the multiplicity of primary category labels, andwherein the at least one server platform is operable to group themultiplicity of patent documents grouped by each primary category labelby the multiplicity of secondary category labels.

In another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system forinteractive patent visualization, including at least one user deviceconstructed and configured for network communication with at least oneserver platform, wherein the at least one server platform is operable toprovide an interactive and dynamic graphical user interface (GUI) to theat least one user device, wherein the at least one server platform isoperable to access at least one national patent database, wherein the atleast one server platform is operable to generate a patent forecastdiagram based on patent data from the at least one national patentdatabase, wherein the patent forecast diagram comprises a multiplicityof graphics distributed over time, representing a multiplicity of patentdocuments, wherein each graphic represents a patent document, whereinthe at least one user device is operable to display the patent forecastdiagram via the interactive and dynamic GUI, wherein the at least oneserver platform is operable to receive a tag for the multiplicity ofpatent documents with one of a multiplicity of primary category labels,wherein the at least one server platform is operable to group themultiplicity of patent documents by the multiplicity of primary categorylabels, wherein the at least one server platform is operable to receivea selection of at least one assignee, and wherein the at least oneserver platform is operable to automatically apply at least one colorand/or at least one shading to each of the multiplicity of graphicsrepresenting a multiplicity of patent documents assigned to the at leastone assignee.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a methodfor interactive patent visualization, including providing at least oneuser device constructed and configured for network communication with atleast one server platform, wherein the at least one server platformprovides an interactive and dynamic graphical user interface (GUI) tothe at least one user device, the at least one server platform accessingat least one national patent database, the at least one server platformautomatically generating a patent forecast diagram based on patent datafrom the at least one national patent database, wherein the patentforecast diagram comprises a multiplicity of graphics distributed overtime, representing a multiplicity of patent documents, wherein eachgraphic represents a patent document, the at least one user devicedisplaying the patent forecast diagram via the interactive and dynamicGUI, the at least one server platform receiving a tag for themultiplicity of patent documents with one of a multiplicity of primarycategory labels, the at least one server platform grouping themultiplicity of patent documents by the multiplicity of primary categorylabels, the at least one server platform receiving a selection of atleast one assignee, and the at least one server platform automaticallyapplying at least one color and/or at least one shading to each of themultiplicity of graphics representing a multiplicity of patent documentsassigned to the at least one assignee.

These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art after a reading of the following description ofthe preferred embodiment when considered with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) displaying threeyears of data according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) displaying fiveyears of data according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) displaying onlyissued patents according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) displaying onlypublished applications according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) including anassignee retrieval interface according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 14 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) with documentsfrom a single assignee selected according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 15 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) displaying asingle category according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a screen view of a query interface according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a screen view of a query results interface according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a screen view of a query scheduler according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a screen view of a tag creation interface according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a screen view of a tag set organizer according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a screen view of an assignee search interface according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a screen view of an assignee detail interface according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a screen view of an insight generator according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a screen view of a document exporter according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a screen view of an automated system according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a screen view of an automated system according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a screen view of an automated system according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a screen view of an automated system according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a screen view of an automated system according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a screen view of an automated system according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a screen view of an automated system according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is another user interface of a compressed claims diagramaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is another user interface of an expanded view for the claimsdiagram for the document shown in FIG. 32 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 34 is a user interface of a claims diagram with relevant technologycontent thumbnail images according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 35 is a user interface of a claims diagram and relevant technologycontent with a relevant technology content expanded for examinationaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a flow diagram of a process according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 37 shows a screen shot view according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 38 shows another screen shot view according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 39 is a schematic of a computer network system according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, like reference characters designate likeor corresponding parts throughout the several views. Also in thefollowing description, it is to be understood that such terms as“forward,” “rearward,” “front,” “back,” “right,” “left,” “upwardly,”“downwardly,” and the like are words of convenience and are not to beconstrued as limiting terms. Referring now to the drawings in general,the illustrations are for the purpose of describing a preferredembodiment of the invention and are not intended to limit the inventionthereto.

In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system forinteractive patent visualization, including at least one user deviceconstructed and configured for network communication with at least oneserver platform, wherein the at least one server platform is operable toprovide an interactive and dynamic graphical user interface (GUI) to theat least one user device, wherein the at least one server platform isoperable to access at least one national patent database, wherein the atleast one server platform is operable to generate a patent forecastdiagram based on patent data from the at least one national patentdatabase, wherein the patent forecast diagram comprises a multiplicityof graphics distributed over time, representing a multiplicity of patentdocuments, wherein each graphic represents a patent document, whereinthe at least one user device is operable to display the patent forecastdiagram via the interactive and dynamic GUI, wherein the at least oneserver platform is operable to receive a tag for the multiplicity ofpatent documents with one of a multiplicity of primary category labelsand at least one of a multiplicity of secondary category labels, whereinthe at least one server platform is operable to group the multiplicityof patent documents by the multiplicity of primary category labels, andwherein the at least one server platform is operable to group themultiplicity of patent documents grouped by each primary category labelby the multiplicity of secondary category labels.

In another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system forinteractive patent visualization, including at least one user deviceconstructed and configured for network communication with at least oneserver platform, wherein the at least one server platform is operable toprovide an interactive and dynamic graphical user interface (GUI) to theat least one user device, wherein the at least one server platform isoperable to access at least one national patent database, wherein the atleast one server platform is operable to generate a patent forecastdiagram based on patent data from the at least one national patentdatabase, wherein the patent forecast diagram comprises a multiplicityof graphics distributed over time, representing a multiplicity of patentdocuments, wherein each graphic represents a patent document, whereinthe at least one user device is operable to display the patent forecastdiagram via the interactive and dynamic GUI, wherein the at least oneserver platform is operable to receive a tag for the multiplicity ofpatent documents with one of a multiplicity of primary category labels,wherein the at least one server platform is operable to group themultiplicity of patent documents by the multiplicity of primary categorylabels, wherein the at least one server platform is operable to receivea selection of at least one assignee, and wherein the at least oneserver platform is operable to automatically apply at least one colorand/or at least one shading to each of the multiplicity of graphicsrepresenting a multiplicity of patent documents assigned to the at leastone assignee.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a methodfor interactive patent visualization, including providing at least oneuser device constructed and configured for network communication with atleast one server platform, wherein the at least one server platformprovides an interactive and dynamic graphical user interface (GUI) tothe at least one user device, the at least one server platform accessingat least one national patent database, the at least one server platformautomatically generating a patent forecast diagram based on patent datafrom the at least one national patent database, wherein the patentforecast diagram comprises a multiplicity of graphics distributed overtime, representing a multiplicity of patent documents, wherein eachgraphic represents a patent document, the at least one user devicedisplaying the patent forecast diagram via the interactive and dynamicGUI, the at least one server platform receiving a tag for themultiplicity of patent documents with one of a multiplicity of primarycategory labels, the at least one server platform grouping themultiplicity of patent documents by the multiplicity of primary categorylabels, the at least one server platform receiving a selection of atleast one assignee, and the at least one server platform automaticallyapplying at least one color and/or at least one shading to each of themultiplicity of graphics representing a multiplicity of patent documentsassigned to the at least one assignee.

The present invention provides systems and methods for automaticallygenerating from patent research data a patent forecast diagram forproviding information about technology evolution in predeterminedtechnology sectors and patent market value based on relevant contextincluding but not limited to patent context and market or commercialdata, the patent forecast diagram including an interactive, dynamic GUIfor visualization of patent documents including content-dense graphicsillustrating the number, content size, type of a multiplicity of patentdocuments (issued or granted patent versus published pendingapplication), distributed over time, with comparison to similar patentdocuments based upon content of specification or detailed descriptionand claims, visual enunciation of human and computer determined insightsand similarities regarding single patents or groups of patents, andvisual representation of related real world events including newsarticles, press releases, product announcements, and professionalopinion articles, all within a predetermined technology sector having atleast one sub-sector or category within the technology sector.

The systems and methods of research, analysis and visualization of thepresent invention provide for enhanced tagging, grouping, or associationfeatures for research results (e.g., documents or data elements) thatprovide for automatic links directly to the Cooperative PatentClassification (CPC) number that corresponds to each patent document,i.e., US issued patent document and/or US published pending applicationdocument, plus user defined and computer automated tagging connectivityamong similar and dissimilar patent documents derived by incorporatingpatent document properties including claim text, abstract text, activitydates, CPC classifications, and user defined metadata.

The present invention provides for a system for automatically generatingfrom patent research data a patent forecast diagram for providinginformation about technology evolution in predetermined technologysectors and patent market value based on relevant context including butnot limited to patent context and market or commercial data, the patentforecast diagram including an interactive, dynamic GUI for visualizationof patent documents including content-dense graphics illustrating anumber or volume, a content size, a type of a multiplicity of patentdocuments selected from issued or granted patents and published pendingapplications, distributed over time, with comparison to similar patentdocuments based upon content of specification or detailed descriptionand claims, visual enunciation of human and computer determined insightsand similarities regarding single patents or groups of patents, and avisual representation of related business events information includingnews articles, press releases, product announcements, and professionalopinion articles, all within a predetermined technology sector having atleast one sub-sector or category within the technology sector. Theautomated research, analysis, and visualization functions of the presentinvention provide for automated tagging, grouping, and association forresearch results based upon machine learning of software comparing datafrom network-based sources in real time.

Also, the business events information is distributed over a multiplicityof websites on the internet, which could not be automatically performedwithout the use of machine learning software code within the presentinvention, which also provide for the business events information to beautomatically searched and retrieved by at least one programmed command.At least one programmed command is generated by the machine learningsoftware for automatically curating the business events information andprioritizing it based upon relevance to the predetermined technologysector and recency. The automated research, analysis, and visualizationfunctions provide for automated tagging, grouping, and association forresearch results based upon machine learning of software comparing datafrom network-based sources in real time.

Preferably, the research results include electronic documents or dataelements having automatic links directly to a company website hosted onthe internet and real time stock status and price for public companies.Also, the research results include electronic documents or data elementshaving automatic links directly to a Cooperative Patent Classification(CPC) number that corresponds to each patent document.

Preferably, automated tagging connectivity provided among similar anddissimilar patent documents is generated by artificial intelligence (AI)or machine learning algorithms in software code for automaticallyincorporating patent document properties including claim text, abstracttext, activity dates, CPC classifications, and metadata. In oneembodiment, the present invention provides an AI model configured forsupervised, unsupervised, or reinforced learning or training. In oneembodiment, the AI model is based on multiple sets of training data. Themultiple sets of training data are a subset of user input data. Forexample, a user device is enabled to tag patent documents with categorylabels, and those patent documents tagged with category labels by theuser device are used for training the AI model. Each of U.S. Pat. No.9,922,286 titled “Detecting and Correcting Anomalies in Computer-BasedReasoning Systems” and U.S. application Ser. No. 15/900,398 isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The AI model is operable to utilize a plurality of learning techniquesincluding, but not limited to, machine learning (ML), artificialintelligence (AI), deep learning (DL), neural networks (NNs), artificialneural networks (ANNs), support vector machines (SVMs), Markov decisionprocess (MDP), and/or natural language processing (NLP). The AI model isoperable to use any of the aforementioned learning techniques alone orin combination.

Further, the AI model is operable to utilize predictive analyticstechniques including, but not limited to, machine learning (ML),artificial intelligence (AI), neural networks (NNs) (e.g., long shortterm memory (LSTM) neural networks), deep learning, historical data,and/or data mining to make future predictions and/or models. The AImodel is preferably operable to recommend and/or perform actions basedon historical data, external data sources, ML, AI, NNs, and/or otherlearning techniques. The AI model is operable to utilize predictivemodeling and/or optimization algorithms including, but not limited to,heuristic algorithms, particle swarm optimization, genetic algorithms,technical analysis descriptors, combinatorial algorithms, quantumoptimization algorithms, iterative methods, deep learning techniques,and/or feature selection techniques.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the display label can bedifferent from the tagging label. A tag is a standalone classificationbased upon predetermined criteria; a tag can be a CPC or linked to aCPC. It provides for tagging within a sector. A visualization isoperable to automatically display tags within a sector and thevisualization can be modified selectively to display alternative tagswithin the sector, i.e., tags that were not used automatically forgrouping results within a data set for a sector. If tags are linked toat least one CPC, then the tag is automatically highlighted in adetailed view for each of the multiplicity of individual patentdocuments. Also, the present invention provides for automaticclick-select or preprogrammed keys to switch detailed view for otherdocuments. A sector category input can be received by the system fromuser inputs via interactive graphic user interface (GUI) so thatdocuments can be grouped by sector in addition to being identified bytags or tagging. Tags are user-assigned or automatically assigned by thecomputer software based on relevance criteria.

The dynamic, interactive visualization of the present invention providesfor displaying result sets according to various criteria establishedduring the research phase when inputs are provided for CPC and/or keyword research on database, i.e., Structured Query Language (SQL) orN-Gram or N-Graph fuzzy search performed on the database.

The present invention systems and methods provide for content-densevisualization via dynamic, interactive GUIs that display patent documentinformation in combination with insights; patent data is configurablefor visual representation and order by time dimensions and furtherincludes: highlighting and association based upon patent asset ownershipor assignment recordation for each patent document; drilling intodetailed information, such as by way of example and not limitation,patent claims tree diagrams; visually connecting similar patentdocuments, i.e., related by owner and/or technology classification orsub-classification; and/or visually connecting news events, pressreleases and/or expert insights to the patent data and its visualrepresentation in the GUI.

Additionally, the database systems and methods of the present inventionprovide for functionality including: automatically importing documentsfrom one or more direct sources accessible via a network; enablingautomated recovery and least cost acquisition of data via the networkand at least one source of data; enabling artificial intelligence (AI)or machine learning for automated associations and grouping of dataelements and/or enabling human insight and association override ofAI-based grouping or associations of data elements; and/or enablingstructured and/or fuzzy data retrieval and analysis automatically basedupon technology sector targets and search queries.

In a preferred embodiment, a system according to the present inventionsubmits queries to national patent office electronic depositories acrossone or more electronic network in real-time and receives the queryresults from the national patent office electronic depositories acrossone or more electronic networks in near-real-time. Thus, a method of thepresent invention includes the steps of submitting queries in real-timeacross an electronic network to a national patent office depository andreceiving the query results in near-real-time across the electronicnetwork from the national patent office depository.

In one embodiment, the present invention provides systems and methodsfor interactive patent visualization. At least one user device isconstructed and configured for network communication with at least oneserver platform. The at least one server platform provides aninteractive and dynamic graphical user interface (GUI) to the at leastone user device. The at least one server platform comprises anintelligence engine including an artificial intelligence (AI) model. Theat least one server platform accesses at least one national patentdatabase, and generates a patent forecast diagram based on patent datafrom the at least one national patent database. The patent forecastdiagram comprises a multiplicity of graphics distributed over time andby category, representing a distribution of patent documents for apredetermined technology sector over time, with each graphicrepresenting a patent document. The at least one user device displaysthe patent forecast diagram via the interactive and dynamic GUI. The atleast one user device is enabled to click-select one of the multiplicityof graphics and display related patent data represented by theclick-selected one of the multiplicity of graphics. The categorycomprises at least one category label. In one embodiment, theintelligence engine automatically creates the at least one categorylabel and tag the patent documents with the at least one category labelbased on patent document information including claim text, abstracttext, activity dates, CPC codes, and metadata. In one embodiment, the atleast one user device tags a multiplicity of patent documents with theat least one category label. The intelligence engine is operable totrain the AI model based on the multiplicity of patent documents taggedby the at least one user device. In one embodiment, the size of each ofthe graphics represents a length of the patent document. In oneembodiment, the multiplicity of graphics comprises at least onegeometric shape, and the at least one geometric shape comprises at leastone circle. In one embodiment, the at least one circle comprises afilled circle representing an issued patent document. In one embodiment,the at least one circle comprises an unfilled circle representing apublished pending patent application.

In one embodiment, the at least one server platform is further operableto access to a multiplicity of market related databases, and generate avisual representation of market information including news articles,press releases, product announcements, and professional opinion articlesfor the predetermined technology sector. The at least one user device isenabled to display the visual representation of market information viathe interactive and dynamic GUI. In one embodiment, the at least oneserver platform is operable to search and retrieve the marketinformation from the multiplicity of market related databases. In oneembodiment, the at least one server platform comprises an intelligenceengine including a machine learning model operable to automaticallycurate and prioritize the market information based upon a relevancyvalue and a recency value for the predetermined technology sector. Inone embodiment, the intelligence engine is operable to curate andprioritize the market information based upon a patent portfolioassociated with a company and/or an individual. Alternatively, theintelligence engine is operable to curate and prioritize the marketinformation based upon historical patent activity and/or market activityassociated with a company and/or an individual. The market informationincludes electronic documents or data elements having automatic linksdirectly to a company website hosted on the internet, real time stockstatus and price for public companies. In one embodiment, the at leastone server platform performs advanced analytics and provides insightsfor the predetermined sector based on the patent data and the marketinformation.

FIGS. 1-7 illustrate various screen shot views of a display for thedynamic, interactive visualization of data by the present invention.FIG. 1 illustrates an example advanced technology sector pertaining tocryptocurrency inventions wherein the circles on the display eachrepresent a unique patent document, i.e., either a published pendingpatent application or issued patent document. The size of the circleindicates the length of the document itself, i.e., a larger or longerdocument is represented by a circle having a larger diameter than otherswithin the sector. A solid or shaded circle indicates an issued patent;by contrast, a published pending patent application is represented by anopen circle without solid center, i.e., it is empty within thecircumference, or it is illustrated with lighter shading.

The systems and methods of the present invention also automaticallyupdate the technology sector and all data that meets the criteria forthe sector as any new data are available, e.g., for patent data, newpublications of patent applications and new patent grants are availableon a weekly basis from their direct source, which is the patent officefor each country or the governing authority or government agencyresponsible for the publications and issuances of patent applicationsand patents, respectively. The systems and methods ensure reliable dataacquisition from the direct source via software automation, failovermethods, and prioritization of direct source based on timeliness andcost.

The display provides for patent documents to be distributed over aradial or scatter plot diagram, with the patent documents distributedfrom the origin to the extent based on publication or issue date. In oneembodiment, the patent documents are distributed from the periphery ofthe diagram based upon publication or issue date. In a preferredembodiment, the oldest patent documents are at the origin of the diagramand the most recently published or issued at the extent. Other criteriafor distributing the patent documents are also provided for. Forexample, the patent documents can be distributed by application date,priority date, assignment date, rejection date, decision date, or marketevent date, such as financing event announcement or press release date.

The display provides for expanding and contracting time scales. In FIGS.2 and 3, the diagram is displaying the recently issued patents orpublished applications, respectively. The current year's patentdocuments are displayed in an expanded manner, whereas the previousyears' records are contracted onto the origin of the diagram.

The display provides for highlighting patent documents by assignee andother matching criteria. FIG. 4 shows a diagram with the assigneePAYPAL® selected and the corresponding document highlighted. FIGS. 5 and7 show diagrams with the assignee VERIMATRIX® selected.

The display provides for a roll-over pop-up of information, such asdocument number, assignee, title, abstract and the like. FIG. 6 shows apop-up of the document number and the assignee. The display pop-upinformation is multi-platform aware, working on desktop, laptop, tablet,smartphone, and kiosk user interface technologies. The display pop-upenables the user to navigate to additional displays that provider moredetailed information about the document, its components, and/orconnected information. The system also provides for displaying recordsin bar charts by various criteria.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in one embodiment, the display provides for aselection of a time scale for the radial plot by a user device. In oneembodiment, the time scales able to be selected for the radial plotinclude each of the previous three years (individually or in anycombination), the previous five years, the previous ten years, and/orall years. In one embodiment, all years is defined as the oldestpublication or issue date of any document provided with a category labelwithin the technological sector associated with the display and allyears subsequent to the oldest publication or issue date. Alternatively,in one embodiment, the time scales able to be selected includes at leastone year within the range of all years.

In one embodiment, the top perimeter of the radial plot of the displayincludes one or more color-coded sections corresponding to one or morecategories within the technological sector associated with the display,each with a corresponding display label. In one embodiment, the displayincludes a list of assignees with a corresponding number of documentsdisplayed adjacent to the name of each assignee. In one embodiment, thelist of assignees includes the assignees with the largest number ofdocuments assigned a category label within the technological sectorassociated with the display.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, in one embodiment, the display allows forthe inclusion of only patents, only published applications, or bothpatents and published applications. As shown in FIG. 10, only patentsare included in the radial plot of the display, as indicated by theradial plot only including filled circles. As shown in FIG. 11, onlypublished applications are included in the radial plot of the display,as indicated by the radial plot only including unfilled circles.

As shown in FIG. 12, the display allows for click selection of eachindividual document. In one embodiment, click selection of eachindividual document generates a pop-up display providing one or morelinks correspond to the individual document, as well as the name of theassignee of the document and/or the name of the document. The display isable to display a plurality of pop-ups simultaneously, with each of theplurality of pop-ups able to be individually closed.

As shown in FIG. 13, in one embodiment, the display provides searchfunctionality for generating a list of assignees associated with asearch term. The list of assignees generated includes a number ofdocuments associated with each assignee. In another embodiment, thedisplay provides search functionality for generating a list of documentsassociated with a search term. In another embodiment, the displayprovides search functionality for generating a list of inventorsassociated with a search term, with a number of documents associatedwith each inventor displayed.

FIG. 14 is an image of a graphic user interface (GUI) with documentsfrom a single assignee selected according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. In one embodiment, selecting an assignee causesgraphics corresponding to documents not assigned to the selectedassignee to fade, while graphics corresponding to documents assigned tothe selected assignee to be differently colored and/or shaded. Byproviding graphics corresponding to documents assigned to the selectedassignee to be different colored, the display allows users to moreeasily visualize in what years and in what categories the selectedassignee has been most active. In one embodiment, more than one assigneeis able to be selected at one time, with the graphics corresponding toeach assignee having the same or different coloration and/or shading.

The display allows users to select a specific category within thetechnological sector associated with the display, as shown in FIG. 15.When a category is selected, the radial plot changes such that the topperimeter of the radial plot includes one or more color-coded sectionscorresponding to one or more subcategories of the selected category,each with a corresponding display label. The updated radial plot onlyincludes documents provided with a label associated with the selectedcategory. In one embodiment, the display includes at least one plotillustrating the number of documents in each of the one or moresubcategories. In one embodiment, the at least one plot includes atleast one horizontal bar chart, at least one vertical bar chart, atleast one pie chart, and/or at least one other type of chart indicatingthe relative number of documents in each subcategory.

In order to retrieve documents relevant to a technological sector, inone embodiment, the at least one server platform provides for thecreation of a session associated with the technological sector. Thesession includes at least one query module, as shown in FIG. 16, whichallows at least one user device to enter one or more search queries. Theat least one server platform retrieves one or more patent documentscorresponding to the one or more search queries from at least onenational patent database. In one embodiment, the at least one serverplatform is operable to determine the number of patent documentscorresponding to the one or more search queries, also known as soundingthe one or more search queries, without importing the one or more patentdocuments into the session. The at least one user device is operable toinstruct the at least one server platform to extract the one or patentdocuments and import each document into the session.

FIG. 17 is a screen view of a query results interface according to oneembodiment of the present invention. Click selection of an individualquery causes the at least one server platform to generate a list ofquery results, including each patent document imported as a result ofthe individual query. If multiple queries retrieve the same patentdocument, the patent document is not imported into the session for asecond time, such that duplicate documents are not included in a singlesession. In one embodiment, the list of query results includes a name,application number, a publication number and/or a patent number, anassignee name, a filing date, a publication date, a date of extraction,at least one link to a national patent database, and/or a list ofapplied category labels for each patent document. When a user clicks on,or otherwise selects, a patent document and selects a category label,the GUI is operable to add or remove the selected category label fromthe selected patent document. In one embodiment, the at least one serverplatform includes a list of all documents without a category labeland/or a list of all documents with at least one category label. In oneembodiment, the list of query results further includes at least oneartificial intelligence-generated suggestion for at least one of thepatent documents on the list of query results. In one embodiment, thelist of query results is able to be sorted alphabetically by the name ofthe document, sorted numerically by application number, publicationnumber, and/or patent number, sorted chronologically or reversechronologically by filing date, publication, and/or date of extraction,and/or sorted depending on whether each document has at least oneassigned category label.

In one embodiment, category labels applied to a patent document in onesession are not assigned to the patent document if it is imported intoanother session. In another embodiment, category labels applied to apatent document in one session are automatically assigned to the patentdocument when it is imported into another session. In one embodiment,the at least one server platform enables a user device to automatically“send” at least one patent document to another session. For example, ifa document appears relevant to “semiconductors” in a healthcare relatedsector, then the user device is able to selectively send the document tothe semiconductor sector. In one embodiment, sending the document toanother sector deletes the copy of the document from the sector fromwhich it was sent. In another embodiment, sending the document toanother sector does not delete any copy of the document, but merelycauses the document to also be imported into the destination sector. Inone embodiment, each session includes an associated “sent folder”including all documents sent from another session. If a sent documentwas already in the session before being sent, then the send folder willnot create a duplicate document and any category labels assigned to thedocument within the session will still be applied to the document withinthe sent folder.

In one embodiment, the at least one server platform includes at leastone document importer module. The document importer module allows a userdevice to automatically import one or more patent documents into asession by entering a unique identifier, such as an application number,a publication number, or a patent number, for each of the one or morepatent documents. In another embodiment, the document importer modulefurther allows a user to specify at least one category label for eachimported document, causing the document to automatically be assigned theat least one category label when it is imported into the session.Furthermore, if the document already exists within the session, then thedocument will be applied the at least one category label.

In one embodiment, the at least one server platform automaticallyre-sounds at least one search query at one or more predetermined timesand automatically imports each of the sounded patent documents. In oneembodiment, the automatic resounding and automatic importing isperformed by at least one extractor module. In one embodiment, the atleast one extractor module includes a plurality of extractor modules.When one extractor module goes offline or is unable to perform automaticresounding and/or automatic importing for a particular sector, the atleast one server platform is operable to reassign a different one of theplurality of extractor modules to perform the automatic resoundingand/or automatic importing for that particular sector. Therefore, the atleast one server platform is able to better avoid errors that may occurwith individual extractor modules.

By rerunning search queries, the session is able to add newly publishedand/or newly issued patent documents within the technological sectorsuch that a user is able to easily keep up to date with thetechnological sector. As shown in FIG. 18, the at least one serverplatform includes a query scheduler displaying the number of newdocuments imported from each automatic re-sound. The query schedulerallows a user device to display a query results page only including thedocuments imported since the previous re-sound. By only displaying newdocuments, the query schedular allows a user to more narrowly focus onupdated documents, rather than sorting through all the results fromevery result in each query after every re-sound.

FIG. 19 is a screen view of a tag creation interface according to oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the tag creationinterface allows a user device to generate one or more category labels.In one embodiment, the user device is operable to select whether eachcategory label is only to be applied to a particular session or to allsessions. In one embodiment, the tag creation interface enables a userdevice to select a name, color, display name, display order, displaycategory, and/or purpose for each category label. In one embodiment,each category label is also operable to be designated as private. In oneembodiment, each session includes at least one core category label andat least one non-core category label. Each patent document within thesession is able to be assigned more than one non-core category label,but is only able to be assigned a maximum of one core category label.Alternatively, in another embodiment, a patent document is able to beassigned more than one core category label. In one embodiment, at leastone shortcut key is able to be assigned to each category label, suchthat a user device is operable to assign a patent document a categorylabel by pressing the assigned at least one shortcut key.

In one embodiment, a patent document only appears on the radial plotassociated with a particular session if the patent document is assignedat least one category label having a display order, display label,and/or a display category. In another embodiment, a patent document doesnot appear on the radial plot when it is assigned one or more categorylabels each having a display order, display label, and/or displaycategory if each of the one or more category labels is also designatedas private. In one embodiment, the at least one server platformgenerates a list of display categories based on the display categoryassigned to each category label. In another embodiment, the list ofdisplay categories only includes display categories associated withcategory labels that include a display order and/or display label, andwhich have been applied to at least one patent document. In oneembodiment, when a radial plot associated with a particular session isopened, the categories displayed surrounding the upper perimeter of theradial plot include each entry on the list of display categories. In oneembodiment, the color associated with each category displayedsurrounding the upper perimeter of the radial plot is equivalent to thecolor assigned to at least one category label that designates therespective display category. In one embodiment, when a user deviceselects the option to only display a particular category on the radialplot, the subcategories shown on the upper perimeter of the radial plotinclude the display label of each category label designating theselected display category. The color associated with each subcategory isequivalent to the color assigned to the corresponding category label.

The at least one server platform enables a user device to create one ormore tag sets. Each category label is able to be assigned to a tag set.In one embodiment, the tag creation interface allows a user device tospecify a tag set to which the category label is assigned. In anotherembodiment, the at least one server platform includes a tag setmanagement interface, as shown in FIG. 20. The tag set managementinterface is configured to receive user input via the user device todrag and drop category labels into and out of different tag sets andenables the user device to delete tag sets entirely. In one embodiment,if the user device deletes a tag set, the category labels assigned tothe deleted tag set are not automatically deleted. In one embodiment,each patent document is only able to be assigned a maximum of onecategory label from each tag set.

In one embodiment, tag sets are able to designated with a rank and anorder. If a tag set is designated with a rank of one, then the tag setis a primary tag set. If a tag set is designated with a rank of two,then the tag set is a secondary tag set. The radial plot is operable toradially group patent documents based on which category label within theprimary tag set each patent document has been assigned. In oneembodiment, if a patent document has not been assigned a category labelfrom the primary tag set, then it does not appear on the radial plot.Display labels and colors corresponding to each category label withinthe primary tag set appear along the top perimeter of the radial plot.In one embodiment, only one tag set is able to be assigned a rank of 1.When a category is selected to be displayed on the radial plot, then theradial plot will group each patent document within the category based onwhich category label within a secondary tag set each patent document hasbeen assigned. In one embodiment, if there is more than one secondarytag set, the radial plot will group each patent document based on thecategory label each patent document has been assigned within thesecondary tag set with the lowest order. If multiple secondary tag setshave the same order, then the radial plot will group based on thealphabetical order of the name of each secondary tag set. In oneembodiment, if a patent document has been assigned a category label fromthe primary tag set, but has not been assigned any category label from asecondary tag set, then the patent document will automatically begrouped into a subcategory designated “uncategorized.” In anotherembodiment, if a patent document has been assigned a category label fromthe primary tag set, but has not been assigned any category label from asecondary tag set, then the patent document will not appear on theradial plot.

In one embodiment, if multiple tag sets have the same rank, then a userdevice is operable to select which tag set of the rank will be used togroup the patent documents. For example, if the patent documents withina selected category are automatically grouped by category labels in afirst secondary tag set, then a user device is able to select a secondsecondary tag set, which causes the at least one server platform toautomatically repopulate the radial plot such that the patent documentswithin the selected category are automatically grouped by categorylabels in the second secondary tag set. In one embodiment, the at leastone server platform is operable to repopulate the patent documents inthe radial plot in real-time.

In one embodiment, the at least one server platform provides for anassignee search interface, as shown in FIG. 21. The at least one serverplatform is operable to automatically scrub the database for eachimported patent document associated with an assignee name. The assigneesearch interface thereby retrieves a list of assignees associated withan entered search term. In one embodiment, the assignee search interfaceis operable to allow a user device to merge more than one of theassignee names on the list of assignees. Merging multiple assigneescauses documents from both listed assignees to appear under a singlename in the list of query lists and/or on the radial plot. Allowing auser to merge assignee names is advantageous especially in cases inwhich an assignee inconsistently lists its name on differentapplications, and in situations in which an assignee acquires anotherassignee. Without ensuring that assignee names are merged, the radialplot does not list the correct number of documents for a particularassignee in some situations. For example, if six documents list theassignee as “Company Inc.,” six documents list the assignee as“Company,” and six documents list the assignee as “Company Co.,” thenthe radial plot would list each of these as three smaller assignees,rather than as a single assignee with a larger number of documents. Inanother embodiment, the at least one server platform includes anartificial intelligence assignee merger, which is trained toautomatically merger assignees.

FIG. 22 is a screen view of an assignee detail interface according toone embodiment of the present invention. The assignee detail interfaceenables a user device to change the displayed name of the assignee, asummary of the assignee, a color associated with the assignee, a marketprofile, a corporate address, a logo, and/or a list of merged assigneesassociated with the assignee. In one embodiment, the color associatedwith the assignee is the color assigned to the symbols of the patentdocuments when the assignee is selected on the radial plot. In oneembodiment, the assignee detail interface enables a user device todemerge two assignee names, causing each assignee name and documentsassociated with each assignee name to appear separately on the radialplot and/or list of query results.

In one embodiment, the at least one server platform includes an insightgenerator, as shown in FIG. 23. The insight generator includes fieldsfor generating an insight, including a name, a body of text, an imageURL, an associated session, an external URL, at least one associateddocument, and at least one associated assignee. Insights provide areview and/or commentary on a technological sector and/or one or morepatent documents associated with a particular session. Further, theinsight generator allows a user device to designate each insight aspublic or private. In one embodiment, if an insight is designated aspublic, then the insight is automatically uploaded for public viewand/or attached to an email distributed to a predetermined list ofpeople at a predetermined time. In one embodiment, the insight generatoris operable to be accessed and/or scrubbed by a compiler, wherein thecompiler is operable to extract at least one insight from the insightgenerator and upload the at least one insight for public view.

In one embodiment, the at least one server platform includes a documentexporter, as shown in FIG. 24. The document exporter automaticallygenerates at least one spreadsheet corresponding to all patent documentsor a subset of patent documents within a particular session. Thespreadsheet includes a name, an application number, a publication orpatent number, a filing date, a publication or issue date, an extractiondate, at least one link to a national patent database, an abstract, atleast one CPC, at least one category label assigned to the patentdocument, and/or an assignee name for each patent document.

In one embodiment, the at least one server platform includes an analysismodule for each session. In one embodiment, the analysis module isoperable to generate at least one score for each assignee based on atleast one of: a total number of patent documents assigned to theassignee, a percentage of published applications by the assignee thatmature into issued patents, a number of patent documents assigned to theassignee in a particular time period, and/or a number of category labelsapplied to at least one patent document assigned to the assignee. Inanother embodiment, the at least one score for each assignee is furtherbased on market data for the assignee, including at least one of:revenue data for the assignee, profit data for the assignee, a marketcapitalization for the assignee, a valuation for the assignee, adebt-to-equity ratio for the assignee, a price-to-earnings ratio for theassignee, a price-to-book ratio for the assignee, a free cash flow forthe assignee, and/or a price/earnings-to-growth ratio for the assignee.In one embodiment, market data for the assignee is compiled via theoperation of at least one web crawler. In one embodiment, the analysismodule is operable to generate and display a list of top assignees,wherein the assignees are ranked according to the at least one score foreach assignee.

In one embodiment, the at least one server platform generates anautomatic alert whenever patent documents appear and are assigned to anassignee that previously had no patent documents in the session. Inanother embodiment, the automatic alert is generated when a number ofpatent documents are imported that exceeds a particular threshold numberof patent documents and/or a particular threshold number of patentdocuments within a particular time period to an assignee that previouslyhad no patent documents in the session. In one embodiment, the analysismodule automatically calculates an average number of patents filed by anassignee, an average number of patents published for an assignee, and/oran average number of patents issued to an assignee over time (e.g. anaverage of 3 patents filed every year, an average of 7 patents issuedevery three months, etc.). In another embodiment, the analysis moduleprovides an automatic alert if the number of patents filed, the numberpatent published, and/or the number of patents issued for a particularassignee over a particular time period differs considerably from theaverage number of patents filed, average number of patent published,and/or average number of patents issued to that assignee over aparticular time period. In one embodiment, differing considerably isdefined as one number being at least 25% greater than or less thananother number. In another embodiment, differing considerably is definedas one number being at least 50% greater than or less than anothernumber. In yet another embodiment, differing considerably is defined asone number being at least 100% greater than or less than another number.Alternatively, differing considerably is defined as a statisticalmeasurement of a dataset. For example, differing considerably is definedas a first number being at least one standard deviation greater than orless than a second number, wherein the second number is based on thedataset.

In one embodiment, the at least one server platform is connected to atleast one internal database. In one embodiment, every time a document isimported into an individual session, the document is added to the atleast one internal database. The at least one internal database providessearch functionality for individual documents as well as a listing ofall category labels assigned to each patent document in every session.In one embodiment, the search functionality is operable to allow a userto search for patent documents by category, corresponding to at leastone CPC code, at least one International Patent Classification (IPC)code, at least one category label, or another categorization scheme. Inone embodiment, the search functionality is operable to return a rankedlisting of the most relevant documents based on the category selectedand at least one keyword. In one embodiment, the AI model is operable toautomatically rank the relevancy of the documents based on the number oftimes the at least one keyword appears in the patent document as awhole, the number of times the at least one keyword appears in theclaims, the number of times the at least one keyword appears in theabstract, the number of times the at least one keyword appears in thedescription, and/or other factors. In another embodiment, the at leastone internal database automatically imports all or substantially allpatent documents from at least one national patent database, not justthose that are imported into individual sessions.

In one embodiment, the at least one server platform includes an inventorinvestigation module. For applications imported into a session that areassociated only with at least one individual inventor, and not with acompany, the inventor investigation module performs an automatic searchfor information regarding the at least one individual inventor. In oneembodiment, the inventor investigation module provides an automaticalert if the individual inventor is associated with a company. Forexample, in one embodiment, the inventor investigation module includesat least one web crawler operable to search each inventor's LINKEDINprofile in order to determine for what company each inventor works.

As illustrated in FIGS. 25-36, the Patent Matrix systems and methodswere developed as a software tool to facilitate patent examination andanalysis by providing a visual representation of independent anddependent claims in hierarchy and relationship to each other, whereinthe visual representation includes both a claim separator or box and thesubstantive content of each claim, switchable between a collapsedindependent claims view and an expanded total claims view. A primarygoal of the software is to reduce the amount of information users needto review in order to make a judgment relating to the claims of a patentor patent application; the Patent Matrix dynamic diagrams are preferablyinteractively linked with the result sets and accessible from within thevisualization of the present invention via click select electronic linkin an interactive GUI. U.S. application Ser. No. 14/822,405, filed onAug. 10, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/633,917, filed on Dec. 9, 2009; which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 10/983,458, filed on Nov. 8, 2004, which claims thepriority filing benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent No. 60/518,119 filedNov. 7, 2003 describe Patent Matrix diagrams and related technology, andeach of the above listed applications is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

The Patent Matrix diagram is automatically generated by and/or visuallylinked and presented on a GUI by the at least one computer, which iscapable of storing, modifying, outputting, and retrieving information incommunication with the at least one input device and at least one outputdevice; and software installed and capable of running on the at leastone computer for automatically importing patent claims based upon theuser inputted information, parsing the patent claims hierarchically,generating a hierarchical claims diagram, and outputting a viewablediagram of the parsed claims; wherein the claims diagram shows at leastpart of a patent claims series in an interactive format that permitsexpansion and compression of the at least part of a patent claims seriesaccording to the hierarch of the at least part of a patent claimsseries; and wherein the software is operable for receiving sub-elementselections, analyzing the sub-element selections for technology content,searching the at least one database for matching technology content,retrieving the matching technology content, receiving a study purpose;analyzing in real-time a matching technology content record for matchingstudy purpose, retrieving in real-time the matching technology and studypurpose content, displaying matching technology and study purposecontent thumbnail images beside the patent claims diagram, anddisplaying matching technology content thumbnail images beside thepatent claims diagram, and linking the thumbnail images to theirsub-element.

To assist in rapid review of claims, the Patent Matrix software performsthese essential functions: automated import of patent claims, automatedparsing of the claims into their hierarchy, and compression/expansionfunctionality of the parsed claims to/from the independent claim level.

The software and system used to generate the claims diagrams, alsoreferred to as Patent Matrix diagrams are operable to automatically andsubstantially instantly import issued or granted patents and patentapplication publications (grants/applications) directly from US PatentOffice website or other database housing documents or patents, by simplyselecting “File, Import”, typing in the grant/application number, andselecting the appropriate database. In the example shown in FIG. 25, agraphic user interface on a computer screen is shown with interactiveelements permits a user to enter a document identifier, in this example,the document identifier is a number: US patent application 20020068013is being imported from a predetermined database of documents or data, inthis example, the US published patent applications database.

Claims Display—A method of the present invention includes the steps of:a user entering/inputting a unique grant/application identifier into thesoftware via a graphical user interface (GUI) or prompt; the softwareidentifying the grant/publication from a database using the uniqueidentifier; importing/selecting the grant/application from the database;parsing the claims to separate each claim as an element of a PatentMatrix diagram; arranging the claims in a hierarchy according to theclaims numbering and relationship to other claims; compressing theclaims in the hierarchy to display at least only the independent claimsto the user via the GUI; the user selectively expanding the compressedclaims and compressing the expanded claims as desired.

The document, grant, and/or application is imported, parsed into itshierarchical order, and compressed to the highest level for initialdisplay on an interactive graphical user interface of a computer screenor electronic display, as shown in FIG. 26. The independent claims of USPub. No. 20020068013 alone are displayed initially, claims 1, 8, 15, and19 of US Pub. No. 20020068013; a plus sign indicator to the left of theindependent claim number indicates whether or not sub-elements (parsedelements of the independent claim) and/or dependent claims are availableto be shown in an expanded, or uncompressed view. Alternative indicatorsare also used, such as a number following the claim text indicating thenumber of compressed elements connected to that independent or higherlevel element. Note also that some sub-elements also have compressedelements associated with them, even though the sub-elements are notthemselves independent claims or the highest level in a hierarchicalrelationship.

The diagrammatic user interactive compression of claims is particularlyuseful for persons examining large numbers of grants/applications. Theuser can quickly look at the independent claims to ascertain if theclaims are relevant to the technology being examined. Dependent claimsnormally only further delimit independent claims. Therefore, usually ifan invention falls outside of the scope of an independent claim, thereis no need to further examine the dependent claims. Forgrants/applications where the claims are close to describing theexamined invention, these claims should be examined in details.

The independent claims can also be compared to other grants/applicationsby opening two or more grants/applications in the Patent Matrix. Shownin FIG. 27 is an issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,481 related to thetechnology of the preceding application. Once again, compressed claimsare shown in the diagram: claims 1, 10, and 20 are the independentclaims series for U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,481. The plus sign to the left ofeach of these claims numbers indicates that some sub-element ordependent claim exists under each compressed claim in the diagram. Notehow much easier it is to compare these two inventions when only theindependent claims are visible. Compare this method with a claimscomparison using the entire grants/applications by retrieving thesepatents from the USPTO website.

The utility of the Patent Matrix software increases as the number ofclaims increases. For example, US Patent Application 20030089899 wasimported using the Patent Matrix software. Shown in FIG. 28 is a screenshot of the first seven (7) independent claims. Note how easy it his toexamine the seven independent claims without the intervening 192dependent claims. This is one of the patent applications with a largenumber of claims mentioned earlier—709 total claims and 72 independentclaims. Additionally, independent series of claims can be group bymoving claims series up or down relative to one another.

Expanding the claims to view dependent claims—For grants and/orapplications where the independent claims are close to describing theexamined invention and may cover the invention, the claims should beexamined in detail, including the dependent claims. Independent claim #1from the US Application 20020068013 has been completely expanded, asshown in FIG. 29. Note the hierarchical dependency of dependent claims 2through 7, automatically created by the Patent Matrix software importfunction.

Other fields—In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, thePatent Matrix software also imports other important fields from agrant/application. In addition to the abstract, as shown in FIG. 30, thefiling date, inventors, assignees, etc. are imported into theirrespective fields in the grant/application header, shown in FIG. 31. Thedate fields include a pop-up calendar to check or change the date andavoid confusion with International/LTS date formats. This headerinformation facilitates the use of Patent Matrix files in an inventionor disclosure management system.

FIG. 32 is another user interface of a compressed claims diagram. Inthis example, outlining of elements and sub-elements is provided tofurther enhance user viewing and analysis, as well as interaction withthe diagram and its elements. Coloration, as well as shading and/or fontchanges are also used to further distinguish hierarchical elements andsub-elements. FIG. 33 is another user interface of an expanded view forthe claims diagram for the document shown in FIG. 32.

Thus, the present invention provides a system for displaying patentclaims, the system including: at least one input device in communicationwith a computer and at least one output device, wherein at least oneuser is capable of inputting information via the at least one inputdevice to the at least one computer and viewing information on the atleast one output device, and wherein the at least one computer iscapable of storing, modifying, outputting, and retrieving information incommunication with the at least one input device and at least one outputdevice; and software installed and capable of running on the at leastone computer for automatically importing patent claims based upon theuser inputted information, parsing the patent claims hierarchically,generating a hierarchical claims diagram, and outputting a viewablediagram of the parsed claims; wherein the claims diagram shows at leastpart of a patent claims series in an interactive format that permitsexpansion and compression of the at least part of a patent claims seriesaccording to the hierarch of the at least part of a patent claimsseries.

Furthermore, the present invention system provides for at least part ofa claim series to include an independent claim, sub-element(s) of theindependent claim, at least one dependent claim, sub-element(s) of thedependent claim(s), and combinations thereof. The system, GUI, andmethods are operable to permit the claims to be displayed in compressedor expanded views or states. The interactive GUI permits the user toclick select which of the independent claim, at least one dependentclaim, sub-element(s) of the dependent claim(s), and combinationsthereof to compress or expand, and the reverse, with the default stateshowing the compressed view initially in a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

The imported claims include an entire claims series, an entire patent'sclaims, multiple patents' claims, and/or at least part of a patentclaims series from more than one patent. Further subcomponent parsing isoptionally provided for the user.

In the system, the computer is a single computer, a server, or acomputer network. The at least one input device communicates with thecomputer directly, remotely, wirelessly, via the Internet, andcombinations, depending upon the system. The at least one output devicesis an electronic output device with graphic user interface.

The present invention further provides for a method for displayingpatent claims, the method steps comprising:

a. providing a system as in the foregoing;

b. selecting at least part of a patent claims series;

c. importing the at least part of a patent claims series into the dataprocessor running the software;

d. parsing the at least part of a patent claims series into the claimshierarchy of at least part of a patent claims series;

e. displaying the parsed at least part of a patent claims series in aninteractive format that permits expansion and compression of the atleast part of a patent claims series according to the hierarch of the atleast part of a patent claims series.

As in the foregoing system, the method provides for steps operable toprovide for at least part of a claim series to include an independentclaim, sub-element(s) of the independent claim, at least one dependentclaim, sub-element(s) of the dependent claim(s), and combinationsthereof. The system, GUI, and methods are operable to permit the claimsto be displayed in compressed or expanded views or states. Theinteractive GUI permits the user to click select which of theindependent claim, at least one dependent claim, sub-element(s) of thedependent claim(s), and combinations thereof to compress or expand, andthe reverse, with the default state showing the compressed viewinitially in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention further provides for an interactive user interfacefor providing a diagram of patent claims, the diagram including: aninteractive graphical user interface (GUI) viewable on an electronicdisplay, the GUI including a diagram of at least part of a patent claimsseries; wherein the claims are parsed hierarchically, and the claims arecompressible hierarchically.

Furthermore, the GUI of the present invention system provides for atleast part of a claim series to include an independent claim,sub-element(s) of the independent claim, at least one dependent claim,sub-element(s) of the dependent claim(s), and combinations thereof. Thesystem, GUI, and methods are operable to permit the claims to bedisplayed in compressed or expanded views or states. The interactive GUIpermits the user to click select which of the independent claim, atleast one dependent claim, sub-element(s) of the dependent claim(s), andcombinations thereof to compress or expand, and the reverse, with thedefault state showing the compressed view initially in a preferredembodiment of the present invention.

The present invention further provides for real-time, automated analysisof claims to assist in determining infringement by competitors inreal-time or near-real-time. An interface provides a patent claimsdiagram as previously described with additional content of potentialpatent claims infringers shown diagrammatically connected to the claimselements and sub-elements. FIG. 34 illustrates an embodiment of thisfeature, showing a user interface, generally described as 100, withsub-elements 111 of a patent claims diagram 110 linked to matchingtechnology content thumbnail images 120. The content is selected from atleast one form of media, by way of example and not limitation, websites121, images 122, documents (PDF, Word) 123, videos 124, productspecifications, user manuals, advertisements, marketing collateral,competitive product comparisons and the like.

The present invention analyzes the elements or sub-elements and thensearches in real-time for matching technology content. Once content islocated, a semantics engine analyzes in real-time the meaning of thecontent to determine if it qualifies as matching technology content.Once it is determined to be matching technology content, the semanticsengine determines in real-time if the purpose of the content meets therequirements of the study. By way of example and not limitation, thesemantics engine would analyze the content and its context to determineif the content was an offer to sell, which would qualify as matchingtechnology content, or a technology review article, which would notqualify.

Selecting a matching technology content thumbnail image brings thecontent to the foreground and expands it to fill the interface, to filla predetermined pane in the interface, or to a predetermined size (FIG.35). Preferably, the expanded content does not obscure the parent linkedkey component.

A method according to the present invention (FIG. 36) includes the stepsof 1) receiving a patent number or other means of identification, 2)importing the patent claims, 3) parsing the claims and displaying themdiagrammatically, 4) receive sub-element selections, 5) analyzing theselected sub-elements to determine keywords, 6) searching a database formatching technology content using the keywords, 7) retrieving matchingtechnology content, 8) analyzing the retrieved content to determine ifthe record is relevant to the purpose of the study, 9) if relevant,displaying the matching technology content thumbnail images beside thepatent claims diagram and linking the thumbnail images to theappropriate sub-element(s), and 10) periodically updating the searchresults for matching relevant content. If the retrieved record is notrelevant, then the record is discarded. Additional steps includereceiving edits and annotations to the diagram components.

FIG. 37 shows patents sorted by the first two digits of their documentnumbers. FIG. 38 shows publications sorted the by first six digits oftheir document numbers.

Note that the same content can satisfy the criteria for more than onesub-element, and therefore be linked to multiple sub-elements. In thesecases, the system links a sub-element to the location in the documentthat is most relevant, based on semantic analysis of the sub-element.

The present invention is necessarily rooted in computer technology inorder to overcome a problem specifically arising in the realm ofcomputer networks. More specifically, the present inventionelectronically searches and parses, in real-time, millions of websites,documents, images and videos from around the planet to find the onesthat are relevant. This immense amount of content, which cannot beparsed in real-time or near-real-time by humans, was not available priorto the advent of the Internet. Prior to the Internet, litigators wouldhave to deal with hundreds or maybe thousands of documents per case,which required a large amount of time. Now, with the availability ofmillions of articles of content, there are not enough persons trained inlitigation to review all the content in real-time or near-real-time.Thus, this is a problem created by the Internet that is addressed by thesystems and methods of the present invention.

Additionally, the majority of these documents are only offeredelectronically and only through the Internet. Thus, it is not possiblefor users to search these documents except by using computer andelectronic networking technology, including GUIs.

The GUIs described in the present invention are also a product ofcomputer technology and Internet connectivity, and as such wereunavailable before the Internet. Specifically, the sector interactiveand dynamic visualization diagram provides for automatic expansion andcollapse of data point within the sector according to a timeline or daterange, as illustrated in the figures, in particular in FIGS. 1-3. Also,in the Patent Matrix hierarchical claims diagram displays and theexpansion mechanisms, which are operable to expand dependent claims anddependent claim text were not available before computing technology andthe Internet.

Additionally, the present method differs from prior art manual methods.Specifically, the present method first searches for technology keywords,and then determines if the document is relevant to the purpose of thestudy. In prior art manual methods, the searcher would first determineif a document was relevant to the purpose of the study, and thendetermine if the technology content in the document was relevant.

Furthermore, the high-throughput, real-time screening necessitated bythe enormous number of documents along with the constraints of computerdisplays requires technological features that did not exist before theInternet. Specifically, the need to review multiple electronic documentsin real-time within a fixed display requires an interactive method thatcan switch rapidly between documents. The dynamic, interactive andelectronically linked GUIs described in the present invention providethis ability.

FIG. 39 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the inventionillustrating a computer system, generally described as 800, having anetwork 810, a plurality of computing devices 820, 830, 840, a server850 and a database 870. In one embodiment, the system is in electroniccommunication with at least one national patent office depositorydatabase 880.

The server 850 is constructed, configured and coupled to enablecommunication over a network 810 with computing devices 820, 830, 840.The server 850 includes a processing unit 851 with an operating system852. The operating system 852 enables the server 850 to communicatethrough network 810 with the remote, distributed user devices. Database870 may house an operating system 872, memory 874, and programs 876.

In one embodiment of the invention, the system 800 includes acloud-based network 810 for distributed communication via a wirelesscommunication antenna 812 and processing by a plurality of mobilecommunication computing devices 830. In another embodiment of theinvention, the system 800 is a virtualized computing system capable ofexecuting any or all aspects of software and/or application componentspresented herein on the computing devices 820, 830, 840. In certainaspects, the computer system 800 may be implemented using hardware or acombination of software and hardware, either in a dedicated computingdevice, or integrated into another entity, or distributed acrossmultiple entities or computing devices.

By way of example, and not limitation, the computing devices 820, 830,840 are intended to represent various forms of digital computers 820,840, 850 and mobile devices 830, such as a server, blade server,mainframe, mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a desktop computer, a netbook computer, a tablet computer, aworkstation, a laptop, and other similar computing devices. Thecomponents shown here, their connections and relationships, and theirfunctions, are meant to be exemplary only, and are not meant to limitimplementations of the invention described and/or claimed in thisdocument

In one embodiment, the computing device 820 includes components such asa processor 860, a system memory 862 having a random access memory (RAM)864 and a read-only memory (ROM) 866, and a system bus 868 that couplesthe memory 862 to the processor 860. In another embodiment, thecomputing device 830 may additionally include components such as astorage device 890 for storing the operating system 892 and one or moreapplication programs 894, a network interface unit 896, and/or aninput/output controller 898. Each of the components may be coupled toeach other through at least one bus 868. The input/output controller 898may receive and process input from, or provide output to, a number ofother devices 899, including, but not limited to, alphanumeric inputdevices, mice, electronic styluses, display units, touch screens, signalgeneration devices (e.g., speakers) or printers.

By way of example, and not limitation, the processor 860 may be ageneral-purpose microprocessor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)),a graphics processing unit (GPU), a microcontroller, a Digital SignalProcessor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), aField Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD),a controller, a state machine, gated or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any other suitable entity or combinationsthereof that can perform calculations, process instructions forexecution, and/or other manipulations of information.

In another implementation, shown as 840 in FIG. 39, multiple processors860 and/or multiple buses 868 may be used, as appropriate, along withmultiple memories 862 of multiple types (e.g., a combination of a DSPand a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core).

Also, multiple computing devices may be connected, with each deviceproviding portions of the necessary operations (e.g., a server bank, agroup of blade servers, or a multi-processor system). Alternatively,some steps or methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific toa given function.

According to various embodiments, the computer system 800 may operate ina networked environment using logical connections to local and/or remotecomputing devices 820, 830, 840, 850 through a network 810. A computingdevice 830 may connect to a network 810 through a network interface unit896 connected to the bus 868. Computing devices may communicatecommunication media through wired networks, direct-wired connections orwirelessly such as acoustic, RF or infrared through an antenna 897 incommunication with the network antenna 812 and the network interfaceunit 896, which may include digital signal processing circuitry whennecessary. The network interface unit 896 may provide for communicationsunder various modes or protocols.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the instructions may be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or any combinations thereof. A computerreadable medium may provide volatile or non-volatile storage for one ormore sets of instructions, such as operating systems, data structures,program modules, applications or other data embodying any one or more ofthe methodologies or functions described herein. The computer readablemedium may include the memory 862, the processor 860, and/or the storagemedia 890 and may be a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed computer system) that store the one or moresets of instructions 900. Non-transitory computer readable mediaincludes all computer readable media, with the sole exception being atransitory, propagating signal per se. The instructions 900 may furtherbe transmitted or received over the network 810 via the networkinterface unit 896 as communication media, which may include a modulateddata signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism andincludes any delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics changed or set in amanner as to encode information in the signal.

Storage devices 890 and memory 862 include, but are not limited to,volatile and non-volatile media such as cache, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM,FLASH memory or other solid state memory technology, disks or discs(e.g., digital versatile disks (DVD), HD-DVD, BLU-RAY, compact disc(CD), CD-ROM, floppy disc) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other medium that can be used to store the computer readableinstructions and which can be accessed by the computer system 800.

It is also contemplated that the computer system 800 may not include allof the components shown in FIG. 39, may include other components thatare not explicitly shown in FIG. 39, or may utilize an architecturecompletely different than that shown in FIG. 39. The variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, elements, circuits, and algorithmsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application(e.g., arranged in a different order or partitioned in a different way),but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the present invention.

Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled inthe art upon a reading of the foregoing description. By way of example,the diagrams are preferably operable to provide for user annotation.Also, it is preferred that the diagrams are representable in amultiplicity of formats, depending upon user preference, such as .html.Also, electronic representations of the diagrams are electronicallylinked to the underlying documents from which the patent numbers wereidentified, for providing quick analysis or comparison between them. Allmodifications and improvements have been deleted herein for the sake ofconciseness and readability but are properly within the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for interactive patent visualization,comprising: at least one user device constructed and configured fornetwork communication with at least one server platform; wherein the atleast one server platform is operable to provide an interactive anddynamic graphical user interface (GUI) to the at least one user device;wherein the at least one server platform is operable to access at leastone national patent database; wherein the at least one server platformis operable to generate a patent forecast diagram based on patent datafrom the at least one national patent database; wherein the patentforecast diagram comprises a multiplicity of graphical elementsdistributed over time, representing a multiplicity of patent documents,wherein each graphical element represents a patent document; wherein theat least one user device is operable to display the patent forecastdiagram via the interactive and dynamic GUI; wherein the at least oneserver platform is operable to assign each of the multiplicity of patentdocuments with one of a multiplicity of primary category labels and atleast one of a multiplicity of secondary category labels; wherein the atleast one server platform is operable to group the multiplicity ofpatent documents by the multiplicity of primary category labels; andwherein the at least one server platform is operable to group themultiplicity of patent documents grouped by each primary category labelby the multiplicity of secondary category labels.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the at least one server platform is operable to receive aselection of a second multiplicity of secondary category labels, andwherein the at least one server platform is operable to automaticallyregroup the multiplicity of patent documents grouped by each primarycategory label by the second multiplicity of secondary category labels.3. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one server platform isoperable to automatically regroup the multiplicity of patent documentsin real time.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one serverplatform is operable to receive a selection of at least one assignee,and wherein the at least one server platform is operable toautomatically apply at least one color and/or at least one shading toeach of the multiplicity of graphical elements representing amultiplicity of patent documents assigned to the at least one assignee.5. The system of claim 4, wherein the at least one server platform isoperable to automatically apply at least one color and/or at least oneshading to each of the multiplicity of graphical elements representing amultiplicity of patent documents not assigned to the at least oneassignee.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one serverplatform includes an artificial intelligence module.
 7. The system ofclaim 6, wherein the artificial intelligence module is operable togenerate at least one suggested category label for each of themultiplicity of patent documents.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein thepatent forecast diagram only includes patent documents having beenassigned one of the multiplicity of primary category labels and at leastone of the multiplicity of secondary category labels.
 9. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the size of each of the graphical elements represents alength of the patent document.
 10. A system for interactive patentvisualization, comprising: at least one user device constructed andconfigured for network communication with at least one server platform;wherein the at least one server platform is operable to provide aninteractive and dynamic graphical user interface (GUI) to the at leastone user device; wherein the at least one server platform is operable toaccess at least one national patent database; wherein the at least oneserver platform is operable to generate a patent forecast diagram basedon patent data from the at least one national patent database; whereinthe patent forecast diagram comprises a multiplicity of graphicalelements distributed based on a timeline, representing a multiplicity ofpatent documents, wherein each graphical element represents a patentdocument; wherein the at least one user device is operable to displaythe patent forecast diagram via the interactive and dynamic GUI; whereinthe at least one server platform is operable to assign each of themultiplicity of patent documents with one of a multiplicity of primarycategory labels; wherein the at least one server platform is operable togroup the multiplicity of patent documents by the multiplicity ofprimary category labels; wherein the at least one server platform isoperable to receive a selection of at least one assignee; and whereinthe at least one server platform is operable to automatically apply atleast one color and/or at least one shading to each of the multiplicityof graphical elements representing a multiplicity of patent documentsassigned to the at least one assignee.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein the at least one server platform is operable to assign themultiplicity of patent documents with one of a multiplicity of secondarycategory labels, and wherein the at least one server platform isoperable to group the multiplicity of patent documents grouped by eachprimary category label by the multiplicity of secondary category labels.12. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one server platform isoperable to automatically apply at least one color and/or at least oneshading to each of the multiplicity of graphical elements representing amultiplicity of patent documents not assigned to the at least oneassignee.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one serverplatform includes an artificial intelligence module, and wherein theartificial intelligence module is operable to generate at least onesuggested category label for each of the multiplicity of patentdocuments.
 14. A method for interactive patent visualization,comprising: providing at least one user device constructed andconfigured for network communication with at least one server platform,wherein the at least one server platform provides an interactive anddynamic graphical user interface (GUI) to the at least one user device;the at least one server platform accessing at least one national patentdatabase; the at least one server platform automatically generating apatent forecast diagram based on patent data from the at least onenational patent database, wherein the patent forecast diagram comprisesa multiplicity of graphical elements distributed based on a timeline,representing a multiplicity of patent documents, wherein each graphicalelement represents a patent document; the at least one user devicedisplaying the patent forecast diagram via the interactive and dynamicGUI; the at least one server platform assigning each of the multiplicityof patent documents with one of a multiplicity of primary categorylabels; the at least one server platform grouping the multiplicity ofpatent documents by the multiplicity of primary category labels; the atleast one server platform receiving a selection of at least oneassignee; and the at least one server platform automatically applying atleast one color and/or at least one shading to each of the multiplicityof graphical elements representing a multiplicity of patent documentsassigned to the at least one assignee.
 15. The method of claim 14,further comprising the at least one server platform receiving aselection of a multiplicity of secondary category labels, and the atleast one server platform automatically regrouping the multiplicity ofpatent documents grouped by each primary category label by themultiplicity of secondary category labels.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the patent forecast diagram only includes patent documentshaving been assigned one of the multiplicity of primary category labelsand at least one of the multiplicity of secondary category labels. 17.The method of claim 15, further comprising the at least one serverplatform automatically regrouping the multiplicity of patent documentsin real time.
 18. The method of claim 14, further comprising the atleast one server platform receiving a selection of at least oneassignee, and the at least one server platform automatically applying atleast one color and/or at least one shading to each of the multiplicityof graphical elements representing a multiplicity of patent documentsassigned to the at least one assignee.
 19. The method of claim 18,further comprising the at least one server platform automaticallyapplying at least one color and/or at least one shading to each of themultiplicity of graphical elements representing a multiplicity of patentdocuments not assigned to the at least one assignee.
 20. The method ofclaim 14, further comprising the at least one server platform includingan artificial intelligence module, and the artificial intelligencemodule generating at least one suggested category label for each of themultiplicity of patent documents.